By Barb Arland-Fye
Editor
Servant of God Dorothy Day, co-founder of the Catholic Worker movement, would remain silent for 20 minutes after Communion “to allow herself to absorb the presence of God within her before returning to work,” her granddaughter Martha Hennessy said. Hennessy, who is part of the Catholic Worker community in New York City, shared that story during the National Eucharistic Congress, held July 17-21 in Indianapolis (OSV News, 7-19-24). Her story made the powerful connection between belief in Jesus’ real presence in the Eucharist and our mission to be his real presence in the world.
Catholics from the Diocese of Davenport were among the 50,000 faithful participating in the congress, the centerpiece of the National Eucharistic Revival that the U.S. bishops launched in 2022 to “inspire greater understanding of and love for Jesus in the Eucharist” (OSV News, 7-17-24). You can read some about the experiences of some of our diocese’s participants in this week’s Catholic Messenger.
In his Apostolic Exhortation, Sacramentum caritatis, Pope Benedict XVI reminded us that the Eucharist is a Mystery to be Believed, Celebrated, and Lived. These three ways of looking at the Eucharist are interconnected. Speakers at the congress emphasized the importance of eucharistic adoration in encountering Jesus, which moves us to encounters with others, some of which might challenge us or that we might otherwise avoid.
Cardinal Christophe Pierre, Apostolic Nuncio to the U.S., gave a compelling talk to open the congress that ought to serve as a call to action for all of us to encounter Christ “in the rest of life.” Read Cardinal Pierre’s talk on the Vatican News website (https://tinyurl.com/3by8c6ct). Here are some valuable takeaways:
Pray. “That we, as Church, may grow in our unity, so that we become more fruitful in our mission.”
Ask the question. What is Eucharistic revival and how are we experiencing it in our lives? Cardinal Pierre said, “… our encounter with Christ’s real presence in the sacrament opens us to an encounter with him in the rest of our life. That means seeing him everywhere we go. It means meeting him in the interactions we have with others.” We need to acknowledge that Christ is also present “in our encounters with people from whom we otherwise might consider ourselves ‘divided.’ This might include people from a different economic class or race, people who challenge our way of thinking, and people whose perspective is informed by experiences that differ greatly from our own … Christ is present to be a bridge.”
Accompany the strugglers. Christ is “present to people who struggle to connect with him because of wounds, fear, and sin. We need to be there with him, accompanying such people, and helping them to experience the real presence of Christ’s love,” Cardinal Pierre said.
Put adoration into action. “To adore Christ is to relate to him,” Cardinal Pierre said. When we relate to Christ through adoration, “we can also relate to others in a way that reverences the presence of God in them.” Adoration ought to spill over “into our daily life: our life of relating to others, our way of seeing others.”
Go where the Spirit leads. Cardinal Pierre believes all of us are afraid to go where the Spirit leads, but doing so could be the main fruit of the Eucharistic Revival. “A people able to listen to the voice of the Spirit.” The first step in synodality is precisely that: “Listen to one another and listen to the Spirit in the person we listen [to].”
Other speakers also called the faithful to action in their talks. Some examples:
Walk with someone. Bishop Andrew Cozzens, who chairs the National Eucharistic Congress Inc., board, encourages us to “… walk with one person who is away from the faith or not of the faith and help them to take one step back to the Church” (America, https://tinyurl.com/2p6z7xm7).
Be of service. Cardinal Wilton Gregory, Archbishop of the Diocese of Washington, emphasizes that “believing in Jesus’ real presence in the Eucharist ‘must also prompt our equally important active response to that presence in charity, in each of our lives offered in service and with care for others’” (OSV, 7-18-24).
Be open. Hosffman Ospino, a Boston College professor who researches Hispanic ministry, said during a Spanish-language breakout session, “We need to be open to the possibilities that there are many ways to celebrate, contemplate and live the Eucharist.” Witnessing how people “express their faith and love for the Eucharist” in different ways can prompt people today” (OSV News, 7-19-24).
Know your story. We need to understand why we love the Catholic Church, if we hope to feel comfortable talking with other people about why they should love the Catholic Church, said Father Mike Schmitz, an internationally known podcaster and college campus chaplain in the Duluth, Minnesota Diocese (OSV News, 7-18-24).
If we take this call to action to heart, we will encounter Christ’s presence in the Eucharist and “in the rest of life.”
Barb Arland-Fye, Editor
arland-fye@davenportdiocese.org
